If your home is looking a little dingy and has lost its sparkle, it may be time for a fresh new coat of paint inside and out. With a few days of work, a new coat of paint can transform your house into a home with stunning design appeal.
A fast, simple way to give your home a facelift.
In the scope of home remodeling projects, a paint job is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to transform the look and feel of your home. With a fresh coat of new paint, you can change interior and exterior colors, freshen up dirty, stained walls, increase the resale value of your home, and boost curb appeal. Painting is a fast, simple way to give your home a facelift without breaking the bank.
Interior Painting
Although you clean the rooms in your house on a regular basis, you probably don’t clean your walls. They are forgotten surfaces that don’t serve a daily function, but they still collect dirt, dust, fingerprints, marks, and stains, especially if you have a busy household, small children and pets. Some people actually wash their walls periodically, but this can remove paint as well and dirt and grime. Over time, you’ll need a fresh coat of paint to keep your interior clean and bright.
Choosing the Right Paint
When it’s time for new paint, choosing the right paint will give you the best coverage and save you money. Good paint should wear well and provide easy cleaning and maintenance for the surface it covers. Consider these different paint options and design tips:
This ”lacquered” look provides high durability and easy cleaning. It’s a great choice for contemporary spaces such as kitchen and bathroom cabinets, interior doors, and trim. It’s ultra-shiny and reflects light, however, it does show imperfections on walls and ceilings.
Provides high durability and easy cleaning with a slightly lower sheen than high gloss. It’s good for kitchen and bathroom cabinets, walls and trim where moisture, spills, and grease stains are a problem. It is used less often as paint technology has improved and trends have changed.
Provides high durability and easy cleaning. With a velvety, soft finish, it works well in high-traffic area like foyers, hallways, family rooms, and children’s bedrooms. Satin paint is the most popular finish for our clients cabinetry, trim, & doors, but it can show roller or brush strokes with improper application.
Provides medium durability and cleaning and has only a slight luster. It’s most often used on walls in areas like living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. However, some clients prefer to use it in areas such as the kitchen, bath or playroom that may have a risk of “splash” exposure, but still want a low sheen finish.
Provides medium-low durability and cleaning. Flat paint has the most pigment and provides the most coverage on walls since it doesn’t reflect any light. It works well in interior spaces that don’t get much wear-and-tear. Trends today make this a client preference. While it is not as durable, it is easy to touch up.
If you’re using a dark paint color, a satin or eggshell paint is best. Dark colors have more colorant which boosts sheen. If your walls have imperfections, choose a lighter paint color with a low sheen. A higher sheen will show more defects. Adding sheen also adds to the cost, usually an extra dollar or two per gallon as you step up on the sheen scale.
When choosing colors, remember that lighter paint colors will make a room feel larger because they reflect light. Darker colors absorb light, so they can make a room feel smaller.
Eco-Friendly Paints
A paint job with low- or zero-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints can help improve the air quality in your home. VOCs are solvents that get released into the air as the paint dries. They can aggravate allergies and asthma, and cause headaches, dizziness, respiratory illnesses, and memory impairment. By using paints with a low- or zero-VOC, you can reduce air-borne pollutants, smelly odors, toxic fumes, and mildew and mold growth in your home.
Exterior Painting
Although your home’s interior spaces get a lot of wear-and-tear from daily activities, your home’s exterior takes much more abuse from outdoor elements. Over the course of a year, your home’s exterior paint takes a beating from hot sun, rain, snow, wind, and pollution. These elements can quickly fade your paint, splinter your siding and wood trim, and damage your doors, gutters and facings. Your exterior will likely need to be painted more often than your interior to protect the structure of your home.
Preparation
With an exterior paint job, proper preparation before painting is essential for the paint to withstand the elements over time. Preparation may include sanding rough surfaces, patching holes, dents or cracks, caulking around windows, and priming all surfaces before painting. Proper preparation will have a big impact on the finished appearance and how long the paint will last.
Painting
After all surfaces are properly prepped and primed, you’ll need to apply two full coats of a good quality exterior paint for best long-term results. When choosing a paint or stain, pay close attention to the type of surfaces you are painting, such as concrete, stucco, wood, or brick. Purchase a high-quality exterior paint that’s recommended for the surfaces you’re painting and follow the manufacturer’s directions if you’re doing your own painting.
Benefits Of Painting Your Home
A fresh coat of paint provides many benefits for your home’s interior and exterior. Whether you stay with your existing color scheme or select new colors for a different look, new paint will quickly give your home a clean, fresh appearance with updated design appeal. Here are some important benefits of painting your home:
- Increases Property Value – According to real estate studies, new paint can increase your home’s value by as much as $20,000. If you’re thinking about selling, a new paint job is essential to recoup your investment.
- Boosts Curb Appeal – Your home’s exterior is the first thing neighbors and guests see when they get to your home. New paint will boost curb appeal and give your home updated style. Remember, “first impressions are lasting impressions.”
- Protects Exterior Surfaces – Painting exterior walls, trim and other surfaces will help protect your home from outdoor elements, as well as termites, that cause structural damage. Paint also prevents grime and dirt from becoming embedded in exterior surfaces.
- Protects Interior Surfaces – Painting interior walls, ceilings and trim will help these areas hold up better under normal wear and tear. It will also protect surfaces from dirt, dust, grease, marks and stains that build up over time.
- Hides Imperfections – Painting both interior and exterior walls, ceilings and trim will help to cover imperfections or damages that are difficult to remove or repair, especially in older homes that often have plaster walls.
- Extends Siding Lifetime – Quality siding should last up to 50 years, but daily exposure to the elements can cut down on that lifetime. Painting can make siding look new again, increase its durability, and save you money from replacement siding.
Whether you’re painting your home’s interior, exterior, or both, it can be a challenging job that takes a lot of time and commitment. For best long-term results, it’s better to hire a professional painter who can ensure a quality paint job. It may cost you more up front than DIY efforts, but you’ll save time, effort and money in the end.